Dutch Mantell Claims WWE Is In Negotiations To Sell The Company

In their Q1 2020 earnings results, WWE announced its operating income was $77 million, $12 million higher than what they predicted. This leaves the company in a solid financial position despite the coronavirus pandemic, and estimates have shown that the wrestling behemoth is on course to make record profits in 2020.

Now, former WWE manager Dutch Mantell has claimed FOX and ESPN are in negotiations to buy the company and the WWE Network, with a deal expected to be done by as early as mid-May. Mantell explained Disney, who own EPSN, is currently losing approximately $40 million per day during the coronavirus pandemic and is seemingly looking to WWE for content.

Mantel tweeted: "HUGE NEWS: Any truth to this. Overheard directly out of @WWE Stamford is that a deal is being negotiated to sell WWE & the network to @ESPN and @FOX by as early as Mid May. @mattkoonmusic."

He later added: "Every entertainment company in the world is in less than stellar shape. Word around Disney is their existence is threatened if the #CorinoVirus doesn’t end soon. As it stands right now, Disney reportedly is losing 40 million@a day. Is it true? IDK but it doesn't sound good."

Media analyst Hans Vogel has estimated Disney is currently losing as much as $30 million per day, but there have been no indications from WWE that they are looking to sell the company. The only change that has recently been announced is that the wrestling behemoth is trying to sell its pay-per-view rights to a streaming provider, and Vince McMahon told investors last week that they had a number of interested parties before the pandemic began.